BACK LIST
I university by some (largely those at
i the ancient universities) and,
indeed, has struggled for students in
l the past. The University Grants
‘ Commission were particularly hard on Stirling in the recent round of
: cuts; has London still not forgiven the students for their rowdy behaviour during the Queen‘s visit of 1972?
Recently however. Stirling has been increasing in scope and respectability. Sports facilities are first class. It offers a number ofsport bursaries in golf, swimming etc which allow students an extra year in which to complete their degree. It also has a popular Media Studies department headed by ex-Guardian Editor Sir Alastair Hetherington.
O Stirling University next year stages the sixth Scottish Student Drama Festival. from 22—28 Feb . Further information from SSDF Office, Robbins Building, University of Stirling.
PUBS
0 Settle Inn St Mary‘s Wynd, 0786 74609. Stirling‘s oldest alehouse - 1776 it says on the wall — and one of the best. Shows its age without being quaint and has a cosy hole-in-the-wall atmosphere. The staffare friendly and the beer is good, but you’ll have trouble even getting through the door at weekends. Folk music some Monday nights.
0 King’s Stables St Mary‘s Wynd. ()786 74262. For when the Settle‘s full. Recently refurbished in olde worlde style. with incongruous weird blue lighting and disco music.
we Wm Be awe,
o Barnton Bar and Bistro Barnton
' Street, 0786 61698. As you might
guess from its name, the trendy place to go in Stirling. Even ifyou’re not
, interested in spotting the Stirling branch of the in-crowd. the Bistro is
5 still a good place to eat and drink.
" The special hot chocolate is the ultimate piggy treat. No food on
Sundays.
' 0 Gates Maxwell Place, 0786 72651. Good for serious drinking and
pool-playing, ifyou like that sort of
thing.
0 Carousel Maxwell Place, 0786
, 75064. Cheap ’n‘ cheerful. Where
; young Stirlingites go on a nite out.
0 Rob Roy Wallace Street, 0786
75273. A pleasant enough pub,
whose main distinguishing feature is
the landlord, who justifies the name
by wearing a kilt.
0 Janine's Barnton Street. Stirling is
always sprouting new pubs, and
Janine‘s is one of the newest. Its
recent identity as a shop is heavily
disguised with ritzy decor—
pin-stripe wallpaper, mirrors, potted
38 The List 19’3epi — 2 Oct
palms and tea-towels on the tables. Still looks like a shop to me though. Open till midnight weekdays, 1am weekends. O Broons Bar Baker Street. 0786 73854. The clientele — and the toilets — are somewhat battle-scarred. but Broons is the place where you can always get a seat on a Friday night when everywhere else is full. You can always get a crick in your neck watching the video jukebox as well. 0 The Birds and the Bees Easter Cornton Road, Causewayhead. ()786 63384. Once voted the best pub in Central Scotland. the Birds and Bees certainly gets full marks for trying. A cross between rural Scottish and would-be Francais, it offers the choice of having a pint while sitting on a sheep or a game of pétanque in the back yard.
Fancy food at fancy prices. but worth going to ifyou feel like being good to yourself.
0 Meadowpark Hotel Kenilworth Road, Bridge of Allan, 0786 832203. As well as having one of the highest concentrations ofwealth. Bridge of Allan has some of the best licensing hours in Scotland. with all the bars open till 1am, and consequently both the ordinary lounge bar and the nursery-hued ‘bistro‘ bar are always mobbed with students.
0 Queen's Hotel Henderson Street, Bridge of Allan. has the same hours, ()786 833268. Also at the Queen‘s. Bridge ofAllan goes Bavarian with its very own Bierkeller downstairs. Music Box on satellite TV upstairs.
RESTAURANTS
O Littlejohns Port Street, 0786 63222. The starters here are a feast in themselves, the main courses, ofthe pizza, burger and steak variety. are good, and the sweets - especially the liqueur sundaes— are a foodie‘s delight. Does an expanding range of vegetarian dishes. including a mean veggie burger. And ifall that isn‘t
enough, you can always have fun
reading the menu or speculating what the bits of antique ironmongery on the walls actually are. The most popular restaurant in Stirling - book ahead. Noon—11pm weekdays, 5-11pm Sundays.
0 Oismat Friars Street, ()786 63075. This Indian restaurant seems to improve after each time it‘s burnt down, which is not infrequently. Business lunches are good value, and I have it on good authority that the vegetable curry is not to be sneezed at. Noon—2.30 business lunch. Closes midnight every day.
0 Pavilion Barnton Street, 0786 73284. A pasta, burger and steak place along the same lines as Littlejohns but without the imagination. Wed—Sun 6—11pm. Closed Mon/Tue.
O Eagleton Hotel Henderson Street, Bridge of Allan, 0786 833635. For high teas in the great Scottish tradition, ie chips with everything, even the (excellent) salads.
CAFES
0 Allan Water Cate Henderson Street, Bridge of Allan, 0786 833060. The time-warp café— go through the door and you travel backwards in time a
hundred years. Filled rolls and chip shop-type food. and classic vanilla ice cream your mother used to eat. 0 Corrieri's Alloa Road. Causewayhead. 0786 72089. Their own ice cream in lots of flavours — worth getting offthe bus for.
0 Fountain Caié Viewfield Street. 0786 79391. Lurking beside the Sheriff Court. the Fountain is easily overlooked. but it has kebabs and cheap ‘everything and chips‘ menu. 0 Pizza Shops For made—to-order pizzas. the Brindisi. Upper Craigs. is quite good. but II Vicolo. Friars Street. is better.
DISCOS O Faktory Maxwell Place. 0786 72651 . Small and stylish. but they have an annoying habit ofchoking the dancers with dry ice. Maybe it helps the drinks sales. Fri—Sat 9.30am—2pm. Sun 9.30am—1.30pm. £1.50.
0 Rainbow Rocks Dalgleish Court. 0786 64904. Stirling‘s newest, biggest and possibly trendiest disco. Occasional ‘alternative‘ nights.
: although how ‘alternative‘ they are is
said to be questionable. A bit hard to find, offto the right halfway up Baker Street.
0 Le Clique Upper Craigs, 0786 71499. Claims to be a ‘Niteclub‘ but their plastic palm trees aren‘t fooling anyone. Le Clique has quite a rough reputation.
0 Diamonds Cowane Street. The former Stirling Albion Social Club. Saturday Night Fever-style underfloor lighting- 1 know it‘s 1986, you know it‘s 1986, but do they? But it‘s big and good for a bop.
INSIDE
o Stirling Castle (0786 62421) Dating back to the early Middle Ages, the castle was once the home ofthe Stuarts and is now the home of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders museum. A few years ago it also stood in for the German prisoner of war establishment Colditz in the series ofthe same name. Open Mon— Sat 9.30am—6pm (4.20pm after 1 Oct) 12.30—5.30pm on Suns (till 3.30pm after 1 Oct). Adult £1 .50, Child/OAP 75p.
0 Church of the Holy Hood St John’s Street. An ancient church where Mary Queen of Scots worshipped and the infant James VI was crowned.
O The Thistle Centre In Stirling’s Main Streetand soon to be expanded still further. this is claimed to be the finest indoor shopping centre in
E whichincludesadisplayandtaped ! ' commentaryandisfree.
; finest small museums/galleries in the
Scotland and it’s easy to see why — 150 different shops including Marks & Spencers, Frasers, Debenhams. Boots etc and smaller. specialist shops. Open 9am—5.30pm Mon—Sat (till 8pm on Thurs). Included in the Thistle Centre is the Bastion. the remains of part of the old city wall
0 Smith Art Gallery and Museum 40 Albert Place. 0786 71917. One ofthe
.‘ country and has won the coveted
‘Museum ofthe Year‘ award in 1984. Open Wed. Thurs. Fri and Sun 2—5pm. Sat 10.30am—5pm. See
panel
0 Darnley House Broad Street. Once
f the home of Lord Darnley. consort f of Mary Queen ofScots and father of '
King James Vl. this is now a coffee
- shop and very handy for visitors to
the castle and old town. Open 10am—5pm Mon—Sat.
O Gowan Hill Behind the castle is this small hill on which stand two cannons and — a legacy of the days when it was the scene ofpublic executions — an executioner‘s block. 0 Broad Street is virtually the centre ofOld Stirling and was indeed, the old market place. amongst the sights here are the Tolbooth. the old Burch j Court and Jail. where there were public hangings in the 19th century. At the top of Broad Street is Mars Wark, built in 1572 this old, renaissance style house. now ruined. became a workhouse which is where it got its present name.
OUTSIDE
o Bannockburn Heritage Centre (0786 815663) Two miles south of Stirling, the site of the famous battle of 1314 when Robert the Bruce beat bad, old f King Edward. The site is open all ' year and is the rallying point for an annual SNP rally. The visitor‘s
Centre and tearoorn are open until
the end of October. Open daily l()am—6pm.
0 Blair Drummond Safari Park (0786 841456) Off the A84, 5 miles west of Stirling. The first Safari Park in Scotland still has a great many attractions including lions. tigers, zebras. giraffes. Chimpanzee lsland, ; and Yac Macs (we don‘t know what they are either). As well as animals there is a funfair, Cinema 180 (50p extra). picnic area, bar and much more. Open until 6 Oct from 10am daily (last admission 4.30pm). Adult £3, Child/OAP £2.
0 Doune Motor Museum (0786
841203) Open until the end of
October this is the best collection of vintage cars in Scotland and includes , the second oldest Rolls in the world. Adult£1.60. OAP£1, Child 80p. ; 0 Wallace Monument (0786 72140) 1 11/2 miles from town centre. This 1 220ft monument was built in 1869 as
a memorial to Scotland‘s greatest i hero who spent the night on the hill with his forces, prior to beating an English army. There are audio-visual displays. exhibitions ; and the truly remarkable Wallace Sword, which looks too big for a mortal man to bear. Open l()am—5.30pm (till 4.30pm from ' Oct). Adult 90p. Child 40p. j